The Golden Rule
by Serendipithy
Summary: Because when they are in tears, sympathy is the last thing they want. SasuSaku. Oneshot.


**Title: **The Golden Rule

**Summary: **Because when they are in tears, sympathy is the last thing they want. SasuSaku. Oneshot.

**A/N: **I really like this idea. :) This is semi-OOC since I HATE Sakura as a freaking crybaby fangirl. Then again, a strong Sakura is fairly cliché too.

**Disclaimer:** Idea by _**me**_, sureall. Characters by Kishimoto.

* * *

He sees her being taunted by the other Academy children.

She instantly catches his attention.

No, it is not because her hair is pink, nor is it because her eyes shine with a bright emerald color (those are minor details in the world of ninjas.)

She's rebelling against the stereotypical girl- she's not crying, showing no weakness towards her bullies. She keeps her chin up, head high, and makes herself proud for who she is, even as they continue to mock her overly large forehead.

He smirks and walks away.

There is no need to help someone who can deal with her own problems.

(At least, that's what he hoped others would do for him if he could solve his own troubles.)

* * *

When he sees her again, it is by pure coincidence. He's going to the marketplace as a favor for his mother (and maybe possibly buying some tomatoes along the way.)

She is sitting against a tree not far from the Uchiha compound, tears silently running down her cheeks. Her hands are at her sides, and she is not even bothering to cover her face or brush her tears away.

_Where did the strong girl who could defend against her bullies go_? He wonders.

He's almost disgusted by the sudden change in her personality. _ Almost_.

His Uchiha manners make him want to stop and console the girl, but consoling is the last thing a strong girl needs.

The need for sympathy should be the _last_ thing on her mind.

Slowly, he averts his eyes and continues on his way to the market.

When he gets back, a bag of tomatoes in one hand and the groceries his mother wants in the other, he sees the girl sitting under the tree, crying just like she had when he had first left her.

Looking into his bag of tomatoes, he thinks he can spare one.

The look of gratitude on her face as she gratefully takes the red fruit makes him feel much better. She's going to be okay.

(Later that night, he learns from his father that a husband and wife were ambushed and killed by a group of foreign ninja when they were returning from the same mission.

He also learns that their child- now an orphan- has pink hair and emerald eyes.)

* * *

She felt in debt to the kind Uchiha who had, in his own way, helped stop her tears. She is strong; she knows tears don't change anything, even as a young eight year old girl. Yet she had felt that one day of weakness would be fine.

She had never expected to meet Sasuke.

She only wishes she could repay boy for his act of kindness. There were only so many things one could do when the boy who had showed kindness had just about everything.

Fortunately (or unfortunately), her chance to return the favor comes faster than expected.

It wasn't a known fact (actually, it wasn't known to anyone _except_ her and Sasuke) but she had actually witnessed part of the massacre that day. She had slipped out of her foster parents' house that night, hoping to get some training in, and just happened to pass by the Uchiha compound. Sasuke's brother, Itachi, had sprung out of the compound running at a speed that only an ANBU could achieve. He had actually spared the young girl a glance, possibly contemplating whether or not to kill the innocent witness. His decision made up, Itachi only passed the shocked girl and whispered the words "protect him" before disappearing.

As a child's intuition, and maybe sensing the shift in aura as Sasuke's brother left, Sakura cautiously made it into the compound area.

It was just her luck that she came upon a scene that hit her with an unpleasant wave of nostalgia. From what she could tell, Sasuke's parents were lying face down against the floor, a small pool of blood surrounding their bodies.

In the middle of the mess was a shell-shocked Sasuke, staring blankly at the floor where his parents lay. When he registered the new presence in the house, his eyes fixated on her.

Taking in her surroundings one last time, she directed one word towards the shaken boy: "Leave."

* * *

Sasuke freezes in disbelief.

Did he just hear what he thought he heard? His parents were _dead_, and this girl who he had _helped_ once was telling him to _leave_?

Just as she was turning around to go, he felt it. They were fairly far, but he could feel the chakra signatures signaling the ANBU and other higher-ranked ninja making their way towards the compound. He must have been really weak if he hadn't felt it earlier.

Then it hit him: she wasn't being inconsiderate- it was actually far from it. She could tell from his personality that he was one who preferred to mourn alone, and being pampered with sympathy and pity during the worst moments of his life wasn't going to make him feel better. And she was right.

"Wait."

The girl turns around, a questioning look on her face.

"Thank you."

And before she could smile, he had already disappeared.

* * *

**A/N: **I don't know if this was supposed to be like a parody of the leaving someone on the bench scene, especially with the "thank you" in the last part of the story. But whatever, that's for you to interpret and for me to stay clueless. :D

Review please!


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